United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021

This bill addresses U.S. technology and communications, foreign relations and national security, domestic manufacturing, education, trade, and other matters.

Among other provisions, the bill

• provides funding for FY2022-FY2026 to support U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, research and development, and supply chain security;
• provides funding for wireless supply chain innovation;
• establishes a Directorate for Technology and Innovation in the National Science Foundation;
• extends through 2025 the authority of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to lease its non-excess real property and related personal property;
• authorizes various programs and policies related to space exploration;
• authorizes various international affairs programs and activities, including foreign assistance for the Indo-Pacific region;
• requires federal infrastructure programs to provide for the use of materials produced in the United States;
• imposes sanctions on China for cybersecurity and human rights abuses;
• requires the Department of Health and Human Services to consider national security risks associated with sensitive genetic information;
• includes initiatives related to elementary and secondary education, including those to increase computer science education;
• contains provisions related to higher education, including those reauthorizing through FY2027 international education programs and addressing China's influence on institutions of higher education;
• modifies and expands the schedule for graduated merger filing fees;
• prohibits federal funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology;
• requires the U.S. Trade Representative to take certain actions related to digital trade and censorship practices; and
• extends through 2027 the Generalized System of Preferences.
  

Endless Frontier Act

This bill establishes a Directorate for Technology and Innovation in the National Science Foundation (NSF) and establishes various programs and activities.

The goals of the directorate shall be, among other things, the strengthening of U.S. leadership in critical technologies through basic research in key technology focus areas, such as artificial intelligence, high performance computing, and advanced manufacturing, and the commercialization of those technologies to businesses in the United States.

The bill gives the NSF the authority to provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of information within the United States concerning the NSF’s activities and the results of those activities.

The Office of Science and Technology Policy shall annually develop a strategy for the federal government to improve national competitiveness in science, research, and innovation to support the national security strategy.

The Department of Commerce shall (1) establish a supply chain resiliency and crisis response program to address supply chain gaps and vulnerabilities in critical industries, (2) designate regional technology hubs to facilitate activities that support regional economic development that diffuses innovation around the United States, and (3) award grants to facilitate development and implementation of comprehensive regional technology strategies.

The bill extends through FY2026 the Manufacturing USA Program and expands such program to support innovation and growth in domestic manufacturing.